Lleyton Hewitt to play Hall of Fame Tennis Championships

Written by: Staff on 11th May 2013

Lleyton Hewitt to play Hall of Fame Tennis Championships

epa03617140 Lleyton Hewitt from Australia in action against John Isner from the USA during the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 09 March 2013. EPA/MICHAEL NELSON |

NEWPORT, R.I., May 10, 2013 – Former world No. 1, Aussie tennis great Lleyton Hewitt has committed to the player field for the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, to be played in Newport, Rhode Island, July 8 – 14. Hewitt is returning to Newport for the second year in a row, following a great run last year that brought him into the tournament final where he faced John Isner, the eventual champion. Isner, who won the Newport title in both 2012 and 2011, will also return to Newport this year, setting up the potential for a re-match of the 2012 final. The two have faced each other 4 times, with Hewitt winning 3 times, including a victory over Isner earlier this year at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Additional early commitments to the Newport player field include top American players Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison, and Jack Sock.

“We are really looking forward to welcoming Lleyton back to Newport this year. He consistently delivers exciting, intense tennis and we know our fans will be pleased to see him back on the Hall of Fame’s grass courts this summer,” said Tournament Director Mark Stenning. “Adding Lleyton into the mix with John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Ryan Harrison, sets our tournament up to deliver an exciting week of tennis in the ATP World Tour’s first stop of the North American summer swing.”

Hewitt is the first international star to commit to the tournament, which traditionally draws a strong contention of top American players for the first summer event back in the United States, along with an array of international players. Hosted right after Wimbledon, the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships is the only ATP World Tour event in the Northeast and the only tournament played on grass courts in North or South America. Tickets are available now on www.HallofFameTennisChampionships.com or by phone at (401) 849-6053.

Hewitt won the US Open title in 2001 and the Wimbledon title in 2002. In all, he has won 28 ATP World Tour titles in singles and two in doubles (including the 2000 US Open) during his lengthy career.

Hewitt is currently ranked world No. 83 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. His success at Newport last year propelled his ranking significantly, which had dropped into the 200s as he dealt with a toe injury, and he has steadily continued to climb in the rankings ever since. He spent 80 non-consecutive weeks as the No. 1 ranked player in the world, an accomplishment he first achieved at 20 years, 8 months old in 2001, making him the youngest No. 1 in history.

A unique part of the festivities of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships is always the Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony, when the highest honor in the sport of tennis is presented to great champions and leaders in the sport. Former world No. 1 Martina Hingis will be enshrined this year, along with Australian tennis great Thelma Coyne Long, and longtime tennis industry leaders Cliff Drysdale, Charlie Pasarell, and Ion Tiriac. The Enshrinement Ceremony will be held on Saturday, July 13, just prior to the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.

Topics: Hall Of Fame Tennis, jack sock, John Isner, Lleyton Hewitt, Ryan Harrison, Sam Querrey, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News

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serb_it_out says:

May 11, 2013 at 11:24 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Lleyton Hewitt to play Hall of Fame Tennis Championships: http://t.co/8TAe4Z3vNk #tennis